Chapter 450 - 449: Grave
Ren Long and the Spirit Race Ancestor were both ecstatic, thinking everything was finally over. Yi Tianyun, however, just looked at them and shook his head.
"Spirit King, what’s wrong?"
They could all sense that something was off with Yi Tianyun and found it a bit strange. The Netherworld Emperor was dead, so why was he still frowning as if worried about something?
"Actually, things are far from over," Yi Tianyun said gravely. "The Netherworld Emperor has been dealt with, and so has the Netherworld Empire, but we’ve provoked a Divine Kingdom."
"A Divine Kingdom!?"
They cried out in terror. They had all heard of Divine Country Powers, but they had never seen one, as they weren’t in the same region. Naturally, they didn’t know what to expect. But even without seeing one, they had heard of the might of Divine Kingdoms. Rumor had it that Void Spirit experts were everywhere, and the environment they lived in was a veritable Immortal Realm, a paradise for cultivation!
The resources there far surpassed those in their own region. Only a place like that would have astonishing Divine Artifacts. It was said that the Divine Artifacts here were all passed down from the Divine Kingdoms. Otherwise, with their level of skill, how could they possibly be capable of Forging Divine Artifacts?
Yi Tianyun then gave them a general summary of the situation. After hearing it, their expressions turned even uglier. The situation was indeed not as simple as they had imagined.
"This matter is quite serious. We’ll head back now and inform the entire Celestial Cloud Mansion of the upcoming situation," Yi Tianyun said gravely. "However, only the elders and above need to know. For now, let’s not tell the disciples below them, to avoid causing widespread panic."
"On this point, I agree with the Spirit King’s thinking. Announcing it would only cause the disciples to panic, which would be detrimental to their cultivation," the Spirit Race Ancestor said.
"Alright, let’s head up now. We should let them know we’re safe first," Yi Tianyun said with a smile. He knew many people upstairs were worried about him.
They all nodded and headed upstairs together. Before leaving, Yi Tianyun glanced back at the area. Once this was all over, he would have to make another trip here. His goal was simple: he wanted to absorb the Netherworld Fire here to make his Netherworld Treasure Pearl even more powerful.
Upon reaching the upper level, everyone cheered loudly when they saw Yi Tianyun was safe and sound, absolutely ecstatic. When they learned that the Netherworld Emperor had been killed, their cheers grew even louder, echoing through the heavens.
Their Celestial Cloud Mansion alone had managed to overthrow the Netherworld Empire. How could they not be excited?
"I knew you would come back safely," Shi Xueyun said with a faint smile.
Yi Tianyun smiled back. Nothing more needed to be said.
The matter was concluded quickly. All that remained was to clean up the entire Netherworld Imperial City, purge the remaining loyalists, and then suppress a few of the more important cities. This task was left to the Spirit Gate and the others. It wasn’t too difficult; as long as the leader was dead, the rest would be much easier to handle.
Especially with Yi Tianyun dispatching the Black Dragon and Red Dragon to assault the cities, it wasn’t a problem at all. With the additional support of the Celestial Dragon Empire, completely crushing the Netherworld Empire wouldn’t be difficult.
But before that, Yi Tianyun gathered all the elders and higher-ups to repeat the story. The previously excited crowd felt as if a basin of cold water had been dumped on them, and a chill ran through their hearts.
They were about to face a Divine Country Power, which made them feel a hint of despair.
"That’s the gist of the situation. We don’t know exactly how a Divine Country Power can descend to our world, and we don’t even know how to get to theirs." Yi Tianyun swept his gaze over the crowd, taking in their worried expressions. He continued, "But there’s no need to worry too much. They’d rather prop up a local force to conquer territory than come down themselves. This proves it isn’t easy for them to get here. Or maybe some kind of agreement prevents them from casually descending to occupy this place! So, we don’t need to worry about a large-scale invasion. What we need to guard against is the arrival of a few powerful experts."
"Right now, we can’t resist a Divine Kingdom. But I believe that with enough time, we can take on even a Divine Kingdom!" Yi Tianyun’s tone was firm and powerful as he looked at the crowd. "The Netherworld Empire was once called an unbeatable Empire, and yet we defeated it just like that. So I believe that even if it’s a Divine Kingdom, we can still hold our ground! If they dare to attack, we will dare to fight back!"
Yi Tianyun’s words stirred their hearts. Thinking back, it was true. In the beginning, they couldn’t even handle a Third-Grade Faction. Now, they had overthrown several Third-Grade Factions, and had even crushed an Imperial Influence.
Given enough time, they really could withstand an offensive from a Divine Kingdom!
"The Mansion Master is right, we have to have faith! Besides, we still have the Mansion Master. As long as he’s here, we have nothing to worry about!"
"Yeah, why the hell should we be afraid! The worst that can happen is death. I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees!"
"That’s right! We of the Spirit Race have been suppressed and plundered for too long. We’ve had enough. So what if it’s a Divine Kingdom? No matter how many come, I’ll be the first to charge the front lines! We’re dead either way, so we might as well go down fighting!"
Their spirits were quickly roused, and they no longer feared the pressure of a Divine Kingdom. After all, it had been the same when they faced the Netherworld Empire. If Yi Tianyun hadn’t saved them, they would have died here long ago. So what if a Divine Kingdom came? The worst they could do was fight to the death. Dying was better than being humiliatingly locked in a cage and raised like livestock.
One by one, they stood up to support Yi Tianyun’s decision. No one objected, a testament to the extreme heights his prestige had reached.
"Don’t worry. I don’t give a damn what kind of power a Divine Kingdom is," Yi Tianyun said forcefully. "I only have one thing to say: however many they send, I’ll kill them all!"
"YEAH!"
They all cheered, their admiration for Yi Tianyun bordering on blind worship.
After making things clear, Yi Tianyun had them continue cleaning up the Netherworld Empire’s remnants. He left these tasks to them; it would take him a lot of effort to do it all alone.
The crowd quickly dispersed, each going about their own business. Regardless of when the Divine Kingdom might attack, the Netherworld Empire had to be eradicated now.
Soon, only Yi Tianyun and Shi Xueyun were left in the room. It had been a long time since they had been alone together.
"Xueyun, I seem to have gotten us into another mess..." Yi Tianyun said, scratching his head in embarrassment.
"Is there ever a time you’re not getting into trouble?" Shi Xueyun’s face broke into a radiant smile. She couldn’t help but raise her hand as if to hit him, but then slowly pulled it back. Her beautiful eyes gazed at him as she said in a low voice, "No matter what you do, I will always support you. All I can do... is wait for you to come back."
As she spoke, her eyes were filled more with a sense of loss—the loss of not being able to fight side-by-side with him.